Digital

An industry-created content ratings oversight board whose members include major studios and networks is recommending that streaming services adopt TV’s age-based ratings system, given the growing number of families that can access those platforms, many of which do not use the TV parental guidelines content ratings.

In a quest for more revenue, the app known for short videos is trying to make it easier to match its stars with brands.

Calling out Facebook and Google, among others, nonprofit watchdog group Accountable Tech has called on the Federal Trade Commission to ban targeted advertising based on user data, or what it calls “surveillance” advertising. That came in a petition for rulemaking filed today (Sept. 28) that asked the FTC to stop the practice of “unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting,” which it calls an example of the unfair competition the agency is charged with preventing.

Australia’s antitrust watchdog is calling for powers to curb Google’s use of internet data to sell targeted ads, joining other regulators in saying the firm dominates the market to the point of hurting publishers, advertisers and consumers.

Conceding that the transition to video streaming has resulted in a scarcity of available program performance data, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told interviewer Kara Swisher during Monday’s Code Conference in Beverly Hills that Netflix is going to make an effort to change things. “We’re trying to be more transparent with the market and talent and everybody,” Sarandos said. “It’s a big black box for everybody.”

Hurricane Ida roared into Louisiana on Aug. 16, knocking out power to all of New Orleans. During the storm’s approach, landfall and immediate aftermath, WWL, Tegna’s CBS affiliate there, measured more than 15 million video plays on its YouTube channel alone.

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a multimedia sales account executive, a digital content director and news directors for Hearst and Nexstar stations in Florida and California.

Another carriage fight has burst into public view: NBCUniversal on Sunday said it was notifying customers with YouTube TV that more than 14 of its networks, including local NBC channels, could go dark on the streaming service in a matter of days. NBCU’s deal with YouTube TV is set to expire Thursday, Sept. 30. Google is unwilling to pay the higher rates the media conglomerate is asking in the renewal talks, according to NBCU. Google said that if it can’t reach a deal by Sept. 30, it will reduce YouTube TV’s monthly subscription fee by $10 per month while the NBCU nets are dark.

Brand Keys said comfort dominates amid COVID-19 trial by fire.

As the widely watched Britney Spears conservator case plays out, another documentary about the legal battle and its fallout launches tonight. FX and Hulu will premiere “Controlling Britney Spears,” a follow-up film from the team behind the Emmy-nominated “Framing Britney Spears.”

The debut edition of Deadline’s New Tube, a global television showcase, gets underway Friday beginning at 8 a.m. PT. The event features top distribution chiefs, showrunners and talent presenting some of their buzziest scripted and unscripted content to an audience of global buyers, producers and TV executives.

Senators from both parties signal rough going over research revelations.

The series racked up 1.39 billion minutes of viewing time among Netflix’s U.S. subscribers for the week, marking its seventh time surpassing a billion minutes and its sixth time as the overall top streaming title since it debuted on Netflix in July.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Dr. Duane Varan, CEO of audience research firm MediaScience, about what’s next in video ad formats, the context effects of news programming on ads and the “choose your own adventure” ads he sees coming over the horizon.

Nancy Han and Jennifer Suozzo are among the new executives joining CNN+, the network’s new subscription streaming service set to launch in the first quarter of next year. Han will be vice president of weekly programming; Suozzo will be vice president of daily programming.

Android TV-powered XC9000 series models are selling on Amazon for $1,200.